Jesus emphasizes the importance of “forgiving those who trespass against us” by mentioning it twice. Once in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.”
He mentions it again in the Parable of the Merciless Servant, in Matthew 18:21-35. When Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?” He answers, “Up to seventy-seven times.” Nothing illustrates hard-hearted unforgiveness like the man who was forgiven of a debt to the king of ten thousand bags of gold. When the king learned that he was unable to pay, he ordered the man, along with his family to be sold as payment for his debt. The servant begged the king for his patience. The king reconsiders and cancels the whole debt. Yet, later that same man grabs a fellow servant who owes him one hundred silver coins and demands repayment. His fellow servant begs him for patience as the man had begged the king. The man was unrelenting and refused. He has his fellow servant imprisoned until he repays him all that he owes. Forgiveness is not an emotional response; it is intentional. Forgiveness is accepting what happened, processing the hurt, pain, anger and disappointment with self-compassion, and releasing the “righteous anger in response to the injustice,” to God. It’s an act of compassion, compassion toward ourselves and toward the offender, just as the king showed compassion toward the servant. Forgive those who have hurt us as we have been forgiven. GiGi❤️
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